Child Abduction and the News Media

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For the past few weeks, local stories of child abduction and murder have received saturation coverage on national cable and TV news. Danielle Van Dam, Elizabeth Smart and Samantha Runnion--three tiny, helpless victims of abduction and murder, have all become household names. But, at what point does public service turn into exploitation? While law enforcement credits the media for helping solve such heinous crimes, others claim that saturation coverage creates unjustified anxiety, causing parents to lose perspective and divert attention from more immediate dangers. We hear more from a USC sociologist, child advocates from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and Children Now, and MSNBC TV-host Jerry Nachman. Newsmaker: Israeli Missile Strike in Gaza Kills Hamas Leader Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has praised the Israeli air strike that killed a leader of the militant group Hamas. President Bush decried the raid, which also killed at least 14 Palestinian civilians as -a heavy-handed action that does not contribute to peace.- Ben Lynfield, of the Christian Science Monitor, reports that the action has sparked angry response, at least one Israeli cabinet resignation, and threats of Palestinian revenge. Reporter's Notebook: Armstrong Rolling toward 4th Tour de France Yellow Jersey Though it won-t finish until Sunday, cycling experts say that the world-s most grueling bicycle race is virtually over. Lance Armstrong will win the Tour de France again. Jeremy Whittle, editor of Procycling magazine and author of Yellow Fever, about the Tour de France drug scandal of 1998, is one of those writing about -a sense of inevitability about a fourth Armstrong victory-.
For the past few weeks, local stories of child abduction and murder have received saturation coverage on national cable and TV news. Danielle Van Dam, Elizabeth Smart and Samantha Runnion--three tiny, helpless victims of abduction and murder, have all become household names. But, at what point does public service turn into exploitation? While law enforcement credits the media for helping solve such heinous crimes, others claim that saturation coverage creates unjustified anxiety, causing parents to lose perspective and divert attention from more immediate dangers. We hear more from a USC sociologist, child advocates from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and Children Now, and MSNBC TV-host Jerry Nachman.
  • Newsmaker: Israeli Missile Strike in Gaza Kills Hamas Leader
    Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has praised the Israeli air strike that killed a leader of the militant group Hamas. President Bush decried the raid, which also killed at least 14 Palestinian civilians as -a heavy-handed action that does not contribute to peace.- Ben Lynfield, of the Christian Science Monitor, reports that the action has sparked angry response, at least one Israeli cabinet resignation, and threats of Palestinian revenge.
  • Reporter's Notebook: Armstrong Rolling toward 4th Tour de France Yellow Jersey
    Though it won-t finish until Sunday, cycling experts say that the world-s most grueling bicycle race is virtually over. Lance Armstrong will win the Tour de France again. Jeremy Whittle, editor of Procycling magazine and author of Yellow Fever, about the Tour de France drug scandal of 1998, is one of those writing about -a sense of inevitability about a fourth Armstrong victory-.

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Warren Olney